The publisher of Ovation magazine,
Dele Momodu has joined several other voices pleading on behalf of the incumbent
governor of Lagos state, Akinwinmi Ambode for a second chance as pressure
against him thickens.
Dele
Momodu in a letter to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu pleaded for a possible settlement and
begged the APC leader to allow the governor run for a second term in office.
FULL TEXT OF THE LETTER BELOW:
An
Appeal To My Dear Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu
My dear Asiwaju, I pray my letter
meets you and yours in fantastic spirit. It has almost become a tradition for
me to write, or openly express my views, to you periodically on political
issues, since about 2007.
Before
I go into the meat of my epistle, kindly permit me to establish some protocol,
or preamble. I always choose to write to you in this manner, in moments of
great concern and uncertainty such as this, because these words must be kept
for posterity. It is not easy to advise someone much older than oneself in our
clime. An elderly person can do no wrong, according to our tradition,
particularly, if such an elder is respected and revered as you are. It is even
much tougher to offer advice to someone as powerful as God has made you to be.
You are a man of destiny, and miracles. Yours is a fairy-tale. A real grass to
grace story that many applaud and seek to emulate. But at the end of the day,
Sir, you are very human. You are a very kind and generous man. You are
exceptionally brilliant and smart and everyone, including your foes, admit and
acknowledge that fact.
I
have known and seen you at your lowest ebb, when we were in exile in England.
You rose stoutly to the occasion then like a true generalissimo. We didn’t see
the type of crowd that currently mill around you now. You were focussed on
dismantling the military junta under the command of General Sani Abacha. I
remember with nostalgia how Tokunbo Afikuyomi and I used to stroll into your
apartment around Cavendish near Regent’s Park, as if we were the owners of the
beautiful flat that you still own till this day. I could go into your kitchen
and cook whatever food I wanted and later do damage to your wine collection. I
recollect the NADECO meetings at the Quadrangle, God bless Lt. General Alani
Ipoola Akinrinade, for his inspirational leadership. Some of the faces I used
to see are staring at me as I type this letter to you, Professor Bolaji
Akinyemi, Chief John Odigie Oyegun, Reverend Peter Obadan, Hon. Wale Oshun, Dr
Amos Akingba, Commodore Dan Suleiman, Chief Ralph Uweche, just to mention a
few.
I remember you as a good dancer at our occasional discos at Mill Hill. I also recognise two good names, Mr Ibukun Fakeye and Mr Bola Opaleye.
We
were under pressure, but you made things easier for most of us because of your
natural gift of giving. Mama Calabar restaurant at Hendon Central was a good
place to rendezvous then for good home food. From
your home, you coordinated many things, linking up with Papa Anthony Enahoro,
Professor Wole Soyinka, the Afenifere Group at home, Dr Kayode Fayemi, the main
man at Radio Freedom (later Radio Kudirat) and several other distinguished
refugees. We had young but active journalists like Richie Dayo Johnson, George
Noah, Greg Odo and Ike Okonta. I will readily attest to your uncommon courage
and unassailable commitment to the struggle for democracy in our dear beloved
country Nigeria. Nothing would ever scare or rattle me like the day you and I
sat alone, in a coded location, with some German mercenary, who told us his
organisation could rescue Chief M.K.O Abiola from detention.
Many
more personalities who are now sojourners in your various homes, who have made
fame and fortune through you, were not part of the beginning no matter how much
they now try to demonstrate that they were. Some of those who planned and
plotted at that time joined you in your political forays, especially, a perfect
gentleman like LT. General Alani Akinrinade who chose to observe from the back
seat and make occasional contributions as the exigencies of our political
situation dictated. I have gone through this tale to soften the ground a bit
for what I’m about to tell you.
A
lot of water has passed under the bridge since those London days.
Please,
Sir, cast your mind back to the day you boarded the British Airways flight back
to Nigeria a free man, about 20 years ago to the minute, in October 1998. God
has been extremely kind, in all ramifications. If anyone had predicted you
would ever be this big, you would have dismissed the person pronto as insane.
You never prepared to be the Governor of Lagos then. Perhaps, you thought of
returning to the Senate. The name on everyone’s lips was Dr Wahab Dosunmu. But
the ways of God are permanently mysterious. All in a jiffy, things turned
around for you and you became first the Candidate and later the most powerful
Governor in Nigeria. You know those who helped you achieve that status and assisted
in ensuring that you ultimately became the most powerful man in Nigeria after
the President of Nigeria, even after you finished your term of office. It
wasn’t all rosy-rosy as you had a running battle with President Olusegun
Obasanjo who, for whatever reason, chose to starve Lagos of its statutory
funds. You assembled a fantastic team of technocrats and, with them, you set
out on a beautiful voyage to create a new roadmap and gargantuan masterplan for
modern Lagos. You survived every challenge or attack on your person, including
plots to impeach you. After a turbulent first term, you coasted home to victory
during your second term. By then your eminent position in the pantheon of
Nigerian icons was assured.
You
were not yet done. Out of the blues, you gave Lagos a superlative retirement
gift in Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola, a gentle colossus, who took Lagos to a new
height of excellence.
Many
people never knew Fashola had such incredible talent. But towards the end of
his first term, tragedy almost struck, when news broke out that you were not
going to endorse him for a second term in office. I remember writing you a
letter, in this same Pendulum column, asking you to perish the thought. I
remember saying emphatically then that the marriage between you and Fashola was
consummated in heaven and any attempt to seek a divorce by either of you would
end up in monumental disaster for both of you and your great party, ACN. I have
no idea how many important personalities appealed to you before you calmed down
and embraced your godson, warts and all, but you did the needful, and despite
rumoured friction between both of you today, Fashola remains a great pride of
Lagos State and Nigeria as a whole.
Let
me say categorically that no one has sent me to you because what is fashionable
these days is the web of conspiracy stories on social medial.
You
must have guessed what this is all about, already. My appeal to you, openly and
frontally, is to plead with you to handle the Akinwunmi Ambode debacle with
utmost care and tact.
Until
you brought him out from retirement, not many people ever knew him and his
achievements as the Lagos State Accountant-General.
He
was obviously a young, shy but brilliant man who knew how to get results. Your
unusual sagacity and prescience in unearthing gems like Fashola and Prof. Yemi
Osinbajo, the Vice-President birthed another genius of an administrator in
Ambode. He has succeeded in following and emulating the glorious heights set by
you and Fashola and Lagos State has again been better for the choice you made.
I have read all sorts about how power changed him and how he has not been too
grateful and appreciative to all those who gave him this uncommon favour and
the seat of power that he currently occupies. I have also sat with people who
swore never to forgive him even if you do.
We
all know though, that once you give direction, all the sabre-rattling by these
political journey-men will cease and they will abide by your decision.
Hmmm,
Asiwaju, at the end of the day, no matter what happens, you would be held
responsible for the plight of your party, APC and Lagos State, for good or for
bad.
It
is normal for every mortal to feel let down. It is even always tempting for
humans to get angry and seek vengeance but after every war, the gladiators
often come together on the table to start a new life as if they were not
killing themselves in recent past. I can’t claim to know all the sins Governor
Ambode committed to warrant his present predicament. But whatever it was, we
are told he has begged and pleaded, his wife has apologist, many distinguished
Nigerians have beseeched that you forgive and allow him to complete his good
work. I have read the complaints of many of your foot-soldiers, Sir, the
reasons and excuses for dumping Ambode are very similar, he has not looked
after anybody, he has been standoffish, who does he think he is, and so on.
These are at the very worst, personal issues that could naturally lead to
bickering and animosity. I doubt if the issue was more about lack of
performance in accordance with the mandate of improving Lagos which you gave to
him. Not even uncharitable persons would accuse him of that. Politics is indeed
a delicate and dangerous game. A few months back, no one would have envisaged
this type of strife or brouhaha to visit a man everyone called the most
hardworking Governor in Nigeria. If I want to sound superstitious and to put it
the African way, this is the handiwork of witches and wizards.
I’m
aware that my very dear Brother, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, incidentally, I’m 20 times
closer to him than Ambode, has been dragged into the cauldron of intrigue and
power struggle in Lagos State. I will love him to be Governor, because he is
undoubtedly qualified, but not in the manner many of your supporters are going
about it.
The
giddiness of the moment must urgently give way to sobriety. If care is not
taken ‘kata kata’ may burst! It seems that the Lagos electorate is being taken
for granted and that it is assumed that they are merely dogs that can be
controlled by the whistle of the dog handler. Asiwaju, you never know, the
unpredictable may happen and it has happened before. I do not pray that history
repeats itself within a short time, at a time when you hold sway as the
undisputed power broker. If that happens, God forbid, most of those saying
there is no one like you today, will swiftly disappear before you can blink an
eye. I venture to say that most of them do not personally like you. They live
in fear of you and not in awe of you. I hear and know what many of them say
behind you. If one asks them, why haven’t they told you face-to-face, the usual
answer is “you will be called an enemy once you tell Oga the truth…”
I
remain your dear younger one who will not shirk from telling you the plain
truth! These
are people very close to you, but do not have your interest at heart. They are
only concerned with their selfish interests and self-preservation.
What
would be worse is for this grave matter not to be settled and Babajide’s head
is used to break coconut. This would be sad.
Everything
must be done to bring your team together again as one. Both of them can still
work perfectly for the good of the State. There is nothing wrong in having two
brilliant, diligent and industrious people on the same ticket to advance the
prospects of the State, with the recognition that the deputy is already
anointed to take over. I believe that this may be a veritable solution to the
present imbroglio and that it can work to assuage the feelings and aspirations
of all concerned.
The
present situation is sad and unfortunate. I seriously pity those who think you
and Ambode cannot be friends again. I know from your antecedents that you do
not practice politics like that. You are much more astute. You are buoyed by
the philosophy of ‘itesiwaju Eko’. That demands sacrifices for the Lagos State
you envision. I believe this is one sacrifice that is necessary to make. It is
difficult but not impossible. You must forgive and make up, before it is too
late. All those who have intervened are waiting, and watching, to see if you
would disregard, and disrespect, them all collectively. That would be truly
unfortunate.
Pendulum By Dele Momodu, Email:
Dele.momody@thisdaylive.com
Pendulum
By
Dele Momodu
